The MSPaint Comic
The MSPaint Comic is a graphic novel series written and illustrated by Kevin Tracy. This action-comedy-adventure story features Professor Oscar Diggs, later known as The Wizard, as a nefarious arms dealer selling weapons made in Oz to world leaders throughout the 20th century. His capture is the primary goal of a classified Air Force unit led by the ghost of Theodore Roosevelt. It is one of the largest printed works of pixel art in the world. Theodore Roosevelt vs. Oscar Diggs Towards the end of the Spanish American War, Colonel Theodore Roosevelt and his Rough Riders were unable to find any evidence of Spanish involvement in the sinking of the U.S.S. Maine. As US troops began leaving the island, a Buffalo soldier spotted strange activity and reported it to Colonel Roosevelt. They found a hot air balloon, a German military officer, and man with blonde hair promising to demonstrate the effectiveness of liquid TNT by dropping it on a US military transport from his hot air balloon. In the ensuing chaos, the German officer was captured, but Professor Oscar Diggs cuts his hot air balloon free and began drifting away while insulting Theodore Roosevelt. Roosevelt, in a last ditch effort to stop Diggs fired, fired his rifle at the arms dealer. He missed his target narrowly, but the riccochet snapped one of the ropes holding the basket to Oscar Diggs' balloon, sending him wildly out of control. The Absent Professor Diggs The interrogation of the German officer revealed Oscar Diggs to be an incredibly dangerous independent arms developer and dealer. Theodore Roosevelt spent much of his effort in the following years looking for Oscar Diggs, not believing him to be dead. As President, he created a small and secret Army unit comprised entirely of black soldiers to hunt Oscar Diggs down. He also secured an unlimited budget for their activities. Roosevelt left the presidency in order to search for Oscar himself, but when President Taft began hesitating about the mission, Theodore Roosevelt decided to run for President again to put the proper emphasis on the search. This would lead to a three way race for President between Roosevelt, Taft, and Wilson. During this time, it is implied that Oscar Diggs was somehow transported to the Land of Oz. Diggs returns as 'The Wizard' In October of 1912, shortly before the election, Theodore Roosevelt was shot in the chest by John Flammang Shrank in Milwaukee. The bullet might have hit Roosevelt in the head had it not been for the actions of the secret unit searching for Diggs. While Roosevelt delivered a speech with a bullet in his chest, Shrank was interrogated and revealed that Oscar Diggs was back, operating in Serbia with a band of rebels calling themselves "Unity or Death", and going by the nickname "The Wizard." However, before they could investigate under President Wilson, "Unity or Death" had assassinated Archduke Ferdinand and his wife. This had the effect of destroying the peace in Europe and falling the first domino that would lead to World War I. World War I Working for the Wizard were strange flying creatures that allied pilots distastefully called "gremlins." These blue-furred flying monkeys were a menace that even in the early 20th century could not be fully explained. Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan Despite his old age, the Wizard remained active into the 1980s and beyond. He convinced the Soviet Premire to launch an invasion of Afghanistan. The Wizard's minions, largely working within the KGB's Zenith Group, were responsible for destroying the communications relay that prevented reinforcements from arriving to protect Tajbeg Palace and Afghan President Hafizullah Amin. The Wizard watched the action from his hot air balloon above the city and personally detonated the explosives used to blow up the communications relay. In the Soviet's hasteful withdraw, a handful of weapons were left behind by Zenith Group. These were eventually discovered by the American Wizard Hunters and implemented into their own arsenal. Most prominent among these weapons are glowing retractable electric swords that the American Wizard Hunters refer to as "cattle prods." Craters of the Moon In 2004, volcanic activity at Craters of the Moon National Park in Idaho created a national stir. It was later revealed that The Wizard and his minions, including elite Winkie Guardsmen, were attempting to erupt a super volcano. Two relatively inexperienced members of the US military's Wizard Hunters unit were sent to investigate and were forced to engage in a direct battle with the Wizard's forces to stop the Wizard's plan. About the Creator Kevin Tracy both writes and illustrates The MSPaint Comic. The story began as a webcomic in 2005, but was pulled from the internet and reworked as an action-adventure-comedy graphic novel series. Tracy has stated at comic conventions that The Wizard of Oz represents "the external locus of control" in his story. Everything that is beyond your control that happens, the college professor that hates you, the tree that falls on your house, everything that is beyond your control. And the challenge in the comic is whether the protaganists can wrestle control away from the external and develop for themselves an internal locus of control." As for his choice of The Wizard of Oz as an antagonist, Tracy stated that "the things we often give power over our lives often have no power at all. The Wizard of Oz is a perfect example of such a character that everyone knows has no power but is thought to have enormous power." He is also from Chesterton, Indiana in the United States; which for decades hosted a nationally recognized Wizard of Oz Festival. He expressed his dissatisfaction publicly for the town's unwillingness to continue the tradition in the late 2000s. He also says he wrote the story as an "abstract autobiography." Tracy served in the US Air Force as an Operations Intelligence Analyst and is unable to tell the story of his unit in detail because it is classified. To get around this, he worked several of his close friends into a narrative that can be enjoyed by everyone in an unclassified setting. The story will take place over the course of five volumes and several smaller stories set at various times and places throughout the timeline. Kevin Tracy has all of his books and art for sale at www.ktracy.com, where he also hosts a live stream show called "Pixel Art Live with Kevin Tracy" and several other popular features among fans of his work. Books The MSPaint Comic: Volume 1 (set in 2004) The MSPaint Comic: Painting North Korea Red (an adult coloring book set in December 2004) The MSPaint Comic: Pixels for Christmas (set around Christmas 2006) After the release of The MSPaint Comic: Painting North Korea Red in 2018, Kevin Tracy promised the release of at least 1 new book every year. Category:Oz Comics